Growing Basics

The amount of time your seeds should soak in cool water. Soaking is how we begin the sprouting process in most cases.

Rinse / Drain

2 - 3 times per day

How often your seeds should be watered. Rinsing thoroughly and then draining as much water as possible are key components to growing great sprouts.

Harvest

2 - 4 days

The time it takes to grow a finished Sprout, or other crop (Micro-Greens, Grass, Greens) from a dry Seed. Note: This "finished" Sprout is our preference. you may grow them for as long as you want! In fact, we suggest that you taste them at every rinse to discover when you like them best.

Yield

2 to 1

The amount of Sprouts, Grass, Greens or Micro-Greens produced by 1 unit of Seed. For Example 2:1 means that 1 pound of Seed will produce 2 pounds of Sprouts or whatever crop you are growing. You do not have to grow them all at once of course, unless you wish to =:-D

Soak Transfer your seeds - if necessary - into your Sprouter, or a bowl. Add 2-3 times as much cool (60-70 degree) water. Mix seeds up to assure even water contact for all. Allow seeds to Soak for 8-12 hours.

Sprouting Empty the seeds into your Sprouter (if necessary). Drain off the soak water. You can use it - it has nutrients in it.

Set your Sprouter anywhere out of direct sunlight and at room temperature (70° is optimal) between Rinses. This is where your sprouts do their growing. We use a counter top - in the corner of our kitchen, but where the sprouter won't get knocked over by cats, dogs, kids or us. We don't mind the indirect sunlight or the 150 watts of incandescent light, because light just does not matter much. Your Bean Sprouts will never have leaves, and a plant can only perform photosynthesis when it has leaves. Until then light has little if any effect, so don't hide your sprouts. Plus, they like air-circulation.

We stop no later than here. We like our sprouts small. Typically, we sprout for just 2-4 Rinse and Drain cycles. At that point most of the seeds will have sprouted tiny (1/16 - 1/4 inch) roots. That's the way we like our Bean Sprouts.

Not every bean will have germinated. That's OK! They are all alive - root or no root. Stop growing when the fastest sprouts have prefect tails (1/4 inch). That's ideal.

Depending on your climate and the time of year you are sprouting and most importantly your personal preference - You may Rinse and Drain again at 8-12 hour intervals for up to 6 days. We Do Not recommend doing so, unless you're doing a science experiment. Grow them for as long as you like. As long as you continue to Rinse and Drain every 8-12 hours. If you grow for a week you'll get some plants growing as well as roots. Experiment! Have Fun! It's All Good - if occasionally inedible @;-D

As always, we suggest that you taste your crop at EVERY Rinse - including the very first - just after the Soak period. The soaked seeds are already alive and super nutritious - and - they are without enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing indeed!) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you. So taste them often and find out for yourself when they are most delicious! That's when they're done.

Harvest Your sprouts are done 8-12 hours after your final Rinse. Be sure to Drain them as thoroughly as possible after that final Rinse. The goal during the final 8-12 hours is to minimize the surface moisture of your sprouts - they will store best in your refrigerator if they are dry to the touch.

Refrigerate Transfer your sprout crop to a plastic bag or the sealed container of your choice and put them in your refrigerator. We offer Produce Storage Bags that will extend shelf life substantially.

*Seed to Use

* If using Sproutpeople's Single Harvest Pack - use the whole bag. It will produce a crop of approximately 8 ounces.

These seeds yield approximately 2:1 - so in theory you can start with up to as 1/2 as much dry seed as your Sprouter has capacity. If you are new to sprouting, or new to this crop; we advise that you start with 1/4 - 1/3 of your Sprouter's capacity so that your sprouts have more room.

12 hours later... Another Rinse/Drain cycle. You can be done now. You'll see sprouts on some of the seeds, and they are all alive - so harvest if you like - or....

12 hours later... Another Rinse/Drain cycle. If you weren't done last time, stop now....

Or go another 12 hours - if you like 'em longer. If you insist....

12 hours more Remember to taste them at every opportunity, to learn when you like them best - now or 12, 24, 36, or 48 hours ago.

Lovely beans mixed up to make our most popular bean sprout combo ever. During our decade at the Dane County Farmer's Market - we sold over 100 pounds every weekend throughout the summer to our loyal and delighted customers. The inclusion of Peanuts is the main reason that more folks are addicted to this than to any other of our bean sprouts. The most popular use of this mix (and many other bean sprouts) is as a snack - the majority of our customers say they eat SF Mix like popcorn or mixed nuts - straight, but we have some great recipe ideas too. Our personal favorite is Spicy San Francisco Snack Mix. It Rocks - and has a nice kick too!

The Story of San Francisco Mix From 1993-1998 we lived in a log cabin in rural southwestern Wisconsin. We had no running water. We did have solar power, an outhouse and a well that was about 500 feet down a steep hill from the cabin. We grew sprouts near our well. Back in 1994 it was - we grew our beans and other non-leafy sprouts on a wooden rack that held up to 50 nursery flats (10x20 inches each). The rack stood next to the edge of a hill, so the draining water from the sprouts would head downhill. In those days we didn't have many mixes - we grew most of our sprouts straight. Our most popular sprout was Peanuts. We also had Mung Beans, Lentils, Peas, Garbanzos and Adzukis. Well, one morning I went down the hill to rinse the sprouts - I noticed something was missing - - the rack was gone! I ran down only to find that the rack had collapsed and fallen down the little hill next to which it stood. I was totally freaked out! We were seriously low on funds in those days - we lived crop to crop - and all of a sudden we didn't have the sprouts our wholesale accounts (co-ops and natural food stores) had ordered, and what of the disappointment of our farmers market patrons? After I cried and screamed I got down the hill and scooped up the sprouts that weren't on the ground (they made quite a large pile, so most were on top of each other) and put them in the nursery flats. That was the only "bean" we had for the market that week. It turned out to be wildly popular - - - of course.

We made it, on purpose, every week after that. We named it San Francisco Mix because it was "nutty" and was always changing (I varied the mix depending on my mood and aesthetic). If only we could remember how often bad things lead to good things......

If there is anything unique about our current seed, we will tell you about it here. Seed Shelf Life: 1 year. Store in cool, dark, dry spot. Store in freezer to extend shelf life.

Not all of these seeds will sprout in the same period of time. They are close enough to mix together though, so we did. You Don't have to wait for all of them to actually pop a root. Something We Need You to Know: Once a seed has soaked up its fill of water, it is alive, and now super-nutritious - and - they now have no enzyme inhibitors (a very good thing indeed) so they'll digest themselves and nourish you. Growing a root/sprout is a matter of preference only - it is already a nutritional dynamo.

Write your own review

Using the Mason Jar Kit and following the directions provided a simple and fun way for me to move further toward a plant based diet.

Christi W.

6/4/2015

I always have some growing in rotation. They are amazing in salads and on my sandwiches. Great crunch and flavor....I eat them right out of the sprouting trays.

Kell Brigan

5/14/2015

OK, I'm converted. So many goodies in this mix.

Kathy D.

5/6/2015

I love this mix. Makes a perfect, easy snack all by itself. Grows so quickly. Is terrific in the spicy recipe found on this website. Can be added to soups, salads, sandwiches. The blend of flavors in this mix makes me happy.

Nigel T.

12/2/2014

I got this as part of a sprouthead kit and it is one of my favorites. There is nothing like this in the UK. Nothing like it at all. Finding sprouts here is a virtual impossibility to begin with, but peanuts and all the different peas and lentils and such make it that much more impressive. I could say the same thing about many of the seeds I received in my kit. Cheers!

These are SO easy to sprout!! They just seem to explode with vitality.

Francis Lee

2/8/2014

I haven't tried all of the mixes sprout people has, but this one is unreal. Awesome mix is pretty and perfect, but the peanuts in SF mix kinda blow my mind and my tastebuds too. I have a hard time growing SF more then a couple days 'cause I eat them when I rinse them. Great Mix.

Cathy

1/9/2014

I just sprouted this mix for the first time. Of course, once those tiny little sprouts just started to show I had to give it a safety taste test. Yum. Next rinse, figured I better taste test again, just once (ahem). Yum yum. Well, by end of day 3-4 I JUST had to taste test before I stored my lovely produce. Dang it! Caught red handed by my hubby who was wondering why it always seemed there was a little less each time he looked. The problem is that the sprouts are so good alone it's hard to let them grow long enough. Wonderful combo, just enough crunch and fabulous flavor.